After checking to make sure his boat line is secure, Bob Casseday crosses the waist high flooded street just over the bridge along Savannah Road in Lewes, Del., to get back home as Hurricane Sandy hits Delaware, Monday, Oct. 29, 2012. Hurricane Sandy continued on its path Monday, as the storm forced the shutdown of mass transit, schools and financial markets, sending coastal residents fleeing, and threatening a dangerous mix of high winds and soaking rain. (AP Photo/The Wilmington News-Journal, Suchat Pederson) NO SALES

The National Weather Service has issued flood warnings for the Brandywine Creek near Downingtown and in Chadds Ford.

In Downingtown, the most recent staging of the creek was a three feet and flood stage is seven feet, according to the weather service. Flooding is expected by late Monday afternoon and should subside below flood stage by late Tuesday morning, the weather service said.

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In Chadds Ford, the latest measurements of the creek were at three feet and flooding occurs at nine feet, according to the weather service. Flooding is expected by late afternoon Monday and the creek is expected to crest at 13 feet.

Communities and residents throughout the county are preparing in numerous ways.

In West Chester, Mayor Carolyn Comitta said she sees everyone doing their part and neighbors helping each other out.

“My input as the storm approaches is that it appears people are prepared,” Comitta said. “Lawn furniture, cans, etc. are indoors for the most part.”

Comitta added that she checked on her 98-year-old neighbor to make sure she had everything she needed. At her home, Comitta said she saw neighbors had already dropped off food and she had a set up complete with a portable radio and flashlights.

West Chester Police Chief Scott Bohn said his department is heading an emergency operations center for the borough, West Chester University and East Bradford. He said downed trees and flooding, especially in East Bradford, are of concern to his department. He said if anyone encounters problems, they need to contact emergency personnel and not try to handle any situations on their own.

“Hopefully people will be patient and relay the necessary information to us directly so we can respond to emergencies as quickly as possible.” Bohn said.

Borough offices will remain closed on Tuesday and Tuesday’s trash collection will be delayed until Wednesday.

Downingtown has declared a state of emergency and has asked any residents in low-lying areas of the borough to evacuate if possible.

“Don’t depend on the electricity being on to run and handle your sub-pumps,” said Borough Manager Stephen Sullins. “Once the power goes out, you have no way (to run it) unless you have generator power.”

Police Chief James McGowan is heading the emergency operations center for the borough and staff is monitoring creek heights and street closings.

The Downingtown Borough website, www.downingtown.org, will be frequently updated with notices regarding road closures, and evacuation and staging areas. Updates can also be received through the borough’s social media websites, including Facebook and Twitter.

In West Whiteland, refuse or recycling collection on Tuesday has been cancelled. The next collection for both services will be Tuesday, Nov. 6.

The Warner family, which lives in a 200-year-old farmhouse in Uwchlan, was preparing to be without power and water for an extended period of time as Sandy storms through.

“We always lose power,” Nancy Warner said during a break from baking bread and preparing a turkey breast to last a few days. “The only thing we hope is that we’ve lost so many trees in past storms that there’s only one left that could possibly land on the house.”

Upper Uwchlan Manager Cary Vargo said that the township had identified roads that would likely need to be closed because of flooding, and areas where downed trees have been a problem.

“The police, public works, and administration will be here for the duration of the storm,” Vargo said in an interview. “We’ve become very accustomed to this situation, based on the storms we’ve had in recent ears, snow storms, tropical storms and hurricanes. We’re getting fairly good at it.”

Caln engineer Jeffrey McClintock said that he expected road closures throughout the township and Valley Run was expected to begin flooding during the early afternoon on Monday.

Sunday night In Tredyffrin Township, the emergency operations center came to life.

The emergency operations center last came together during Hurricane Irene one year ago. That experience proved valuable in planning for Sandy’s wrath.

“We have a lot of veteran people here who weathered through Irene, and I expanded the center a little bit to add some things we felt we needed,” Tredyffrin Police Commissioner Anthony Giaimo said. “We looked at what we did well and at what we could use extra support on, and made adjustments accordingly.”

Giaimo said precautions were taken in low-lying areas, including road closures and informing some residents that temporarily vacating their homes could be the best option.

With its emergency plan in full swing, Easttown Township had multiple crews watching for flooding dangers.

“We have them in rotation looking for places where drains need to be cleaned out and doing that,” Easttown Township Manager Mike Brown said. “We were doing much of the same thing starting on Thursday of last week, but it’s difficult to keep up on it because of the volume of stuff that’s already on the ground.”

Malvern Borough also put its emergency plan into action over the weekend

“We did declare it a disaster emergency, and our public works have been out looking for potential sewer problems,” Malvern Borough Manager Sandy Kelley said. “We haven’t really made any other preparations outside of what’s in our emergency operations manual.

“Our biggest concern is power outages and downed trees. We have people out today, and they’ll be checking storm drains again until it’s over.”

The Red Cross has established emergency shelters at Lionville Middle School and Avon Grove High School. They can accommodate about 400 people at the shelters, according to spokeswoman Sara Smith.

Lawrence Dining Hall at West Chester University will close Monday at 5 p.m. According to Pam Sheridan, public relations and marketing for the university, the dining hall was busy Monday preparing boxed meals for those students on meal plans. Students are able to pick up dinner for Monday and breakfast for Tuesday.

Sheridan said provided the University has power Tuesday, the dining hall would reopen and continue to serve meals to students. As of 3 p.m. Monday, 1,700 students had come to claim the meals.

The shuttle service at the university will stop Monday. Sheridan added that those students with vehicles who wish to move their cars into the Sharpless garage could do so free of charge until Wednesday at 8 a.m.

The Chester County Health Department warns that resident should avoid flood waters when possible, because of unknown sewage or contaminants that may be in the water. If flood waters cannot be avoided during clean-up efforts, residents are urged to take precautions such as wearing rubber gloves. The department warns not to digest the flood waters. Residents are encouraged to avoid boating or swimming in the water, as well.

Residents with sewer systems affected by flooding and sewage running into the streets on onto your property are asked to call your local municipal authority to inform the of the overflow, the health department said. Residents with septic systems are warned that the system will likely be damaged and may need to be pumped out after the weather has subsided.

If sewage from the septic system is running into a stream, residents are urged notify their municipality and call the Department of Environmental Protection 24-hour emergency number- 484-250-5900.

If sewage is inside anyone’s home, the first priority is to remove it using a sump pump or some other means and then call a plumber to repair the system once the storm is over, the health department said.

If residents are using a well for water and it has been submerged during the storm, residents are asked to not drink or use the water for hygiene or ice purposes, according to the health department. If the water must be used, it should be boiled for two to five minutes. Once the storm has ended, residents should inspect their wells for damage. If no damage has been done, residents are asked to run water until it is clear before using.

Patty Mains, spokeswoman for the county’s department of emergency services, said dry ice is not available for residents at this time.

Local liquor stores were closed Monday and the state will monitor the storm to determine if stores will open on Tuesday.